REG Linux started in early 2024 as a Buildroot-based retrogaming OS with a simple idea: support as many devices as possible, keep the system minimal, and make it work out of the box. Two years later, we’re approaching a stable release.
Here’s what happened between then and now.
The numbers
- 186 supported devices across 49 brands and 4 CPU architectures (ARM, AArch64, RISC-V, x86_64)
- 52 SoCs with tested board support packages
- 176 pull requests merged on the main repo
- Buildroot toolchain maintained in sync with upstream, kernel forks for dozens of SoCs
- EmulationStation frontend, RetroArch, and 60+ standalone emulators and game engines
What we shipped
The first public images landed in mid-2024 with the 24.06 and 24.07 releases, covering a handful of ARM handhelds and SBCs. Device support expanded fast after that — every few weeks, another batch of boards got working images.
Some milestones along the way:
RISC-V support. We added images for the Milk-V Mars, Milk-V Meles, StarFive VisionFive 2, and SpacemiT K1 boards. REG Linux is still the only retrogaming OS running on RISC-V. It’s early, but the 8-bit and 16-bit emulators run at full speed and PS1 is playable on the faster boards.
TV box support. Cheap Amlogic-based Android TV boxes can run REG Linux. We added a tvbox device class and images for the Beelink GT-King, GT-King Pro, and others. These are $30-50 boxes with good SoCs that make decent emulation stations.
x86_64 and PC gaming handhelds. Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and AYANEO devices are supported alongside standard x86_64 PCs. Unified GRUB boot, Secure Boot shim signing, and proper GPU detection for Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA hardware.
Immutable root filesystem. The system partition is read-only at runtime. Power loss during a session doesn’t corrupt the OS. User data lives on a separate partition. This was an architectural decision from the start and it’s paid off in reliability.
Compatibility matrix. We built compat.reglinux.org — a live dashboard where every device has per-feature status tracking (boot, WiFi, Bluetooth, display, GPU, suspend, audio, USB, and more). Devices can self-report their hardware compatibility automatically after boot. No manual testing spreadsheets.
Website and wiki overhaul. The reglinux.org site was rebuilt from scratch with device pages, download links resolved directly from GitHub releases, an embeddable compatibility widget, and a full wiki generated from device metadata.
What’s left
The 25.09-preview tag is on the current development branch. Before we call it stable:
- Fill in the compatibility matrix with real test data from more devices
- Complete the remaining device images that don’t have clean boot
- Polish the EmulationStation theme and defaults for smaller screens
- Documentation pass on the wiki for the most popular devices
- Ship the
reglinux-compatpackage in a build so devices auto-report
The foundation is solid. The toolchain builds, the images boot, the emulators run. What remains is testing breadth and polish.
Get involved
If you have a supported device, the best thing you can do is flash an image, test it, and report what works. The compatibility matrix accepts submissions from anyone with a GitHub account.
Bug reports and pull requests go to GitHub. Discussion happens on Discord.
Two years of building. 186 devices. Four architectures. Approaching release. Grab an image from the download page and try it.